Vehicle and guide truck system



VEHICLE AND GUIDE TRUCK SYSTEM Filed July 24. 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Q 5,; 4 N Mmvmz Q fiw/a/l Z A e/W iz/hr [far/n ///a/'//4 .s

March 24, 1970 0. c. REILLY VEHICLE AND GUIDE TRUCK SYSTEM 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed July 24, 1967 mmrme Wald/6' 2517/ W m [far/0 ///amey5 United States Patent 3,502,040 VEHICLE AND GUIDE TRUCK SYSTEM Donald C. Reilly, Downers Grove, Ill., assignor to Westinghouse Air Brake Company, Pittsburgh, Pa., a corporation of Pennsylvania Filed July 24, 1967, Ser. No. 655,413 Int. Cl. B61f 9/00; B61d 11/00; B61b 13/00 U.S. Cl. 104--247 7 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A steering and guidance system for causing following units in a multi-unit train to change direction in a mining way without cutting corners comprising a guide roller carried by each train unit which bears against an up standing wall or guide flange on a shiftable base, the steering system of each train unit being biased to oversteer so that the roller is maintained in contact with the guide flange in both directions of movement.

This invention relates generally to a system for aligning and guiding a multi-unit conveyor train used in high wall mining operations, and specifically to such a system in which the conveyor train must change directions in a mining way prior to advancing along the linear path of advance of a mining entry.

Accordingly, a primary object of the invention is to provide a guide means and steering mechanism which will accurately locate each conveyor unit in a multi-unit conveyor train in precise alignment prior to entry into a mine passageway.

Another object is to provide such a guide means and steering mechanism in which the tendency of successive units in a multi-unit conveyor train to over steer, or cut corners, is utilized to achieve a final exact alignment of each unit.

Yet a further object is to provide such a guide means and steering mechanism which is equally effective when a multi-unit conveyor train is moved in either of two opposite directions.

A further object is to provide such a guide means and steering mechanism which can be easily and quickly advanced in an assembled condition from one position to another preparatory to driving a succeeding mine entry.

A further object is to provide a system as above described which is especially adapted for use in a mining operation in which a lengthy movable multi-unit conveyor train is required to follow an advancing mining operation, and in which the clearance space available to orient the conveyor train prior to entering the mine passageway is less than the length of the conveyor train, such as high wall coal mining.

The invention is illustrated more or less diagrammatically in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a high wall mining operation with parts broken away and others shown in dotted lines which illustrates the steering-guidance system of this invention;

FIGURE 2 is a view, to an enlarged scale, taken substantially along the line 2-2 of FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 3 is a side view, to an enlarged scale, showing the connection between adjacent conveyor units;

FIGURE 4 is a top plan view with parts omitted and others shown in phantom of the steering and guidance mechanism of a conveyor unit; and

3,502,040 Patented Mar. 24, 1970 FIGURE 5 is a view taken substantially along the line 55 of FIGURE 4.

Like reference numerals will be used to refer to like parts from figure to figure.

A high wall coal mining operation is illustrated in FIG- URE 1. In such an operation, mine passageways 10 are cut into a high wall 11. When a passageway or entry 10 has been mined to the extent desired, the equipment is trammed out of the passageway, moved forward a short distance and then advanced into the high wall along a path parallel to the just completed entry.

The mining equipment rests upon a bench or shelf area 12 which may vary considerably in width. In the illustrated embodiment, it will be assumed that the shelf 12 is approximately one hundred feet or less in width, the opposite wall of the shelf being defined by a spoil bank, not shown.

It is essentially that the entries 10 be disposed in nearly exact parallelism with one another because the entries may extend into the high wall as much as one thousand feet and any slight deflection in direction at the start of the entry will cause the pillars left between adjacent entries to be dangerously thin.

Only a portion of the mining equipment is illustrated in this figure. For the purposes of discussion, it may be assumed that the coal mining machine has advanced a considerable distance into the high wall. It will be assumed that in the type of operation here described, a plurality of cascade conveyors, four of which are indicated at 13, 14, 15 and 16, follow behind the mining machine, receive mined coal from it, and convey it rearwardly to a discharge area. Although the invention is not confined to any particular construction of conveyor unit, it may be assumed that each unit is approximately thirty-five feet long and is constructed similarly to the construction shown in copending application Ser. No. 655,426 filed July 24, 1967 and 664,236 filed Aug. 28, 1967. In one application of the invention, over thirty individual, substantially identical, conveyor units will be employed.

With a Inulti-unit train composed of over thirty thirtyfive foot conveyors working on a narrow shelf, it is apparent that the multi-unit train must travel parallel to the face of the high wall for most of the time it is in operation. This requires each unit in the multi-unit train to traverse a mining way including a curved path prior to moving into the mine entry. Since it is a well-known fact that each succeeding unit in a multi-unit train will not track along the path traversed by the preceeding unit, that is, there is a tendency to cut corners, means for causing each unit to follow the exact same curvature are essential.

Each conveyor unit includes a pair of wheel assern blies, two of which are indicated at 17 and 18, which support the forward end of each unit. In this connection, the term forward will be used to denote a direction of movement which advances toward the face in the entry and reverse for movement in the opposite direction. The wheel assemblies are supported from the unit frame 19, the details of which are not important to an understanding of the invention. Each unit includes a drawbar assembly 20 which extends forwardly past the forward end of the unit and is connected to a universal connection 21 carried at the head end of the preceeding conveyor unit. As best seen in FIGURE 3, each unit includes a conveyor belt; the preceeding unit discharging into the following unit.

The drawbar assembly 20, which is illustrated in detail in FIGURE 4 and FIGURE 5, includes a tongue section 24 which is connected by any suitable means to a terminal portion 25, the terminal portion being pivotable about a vertical axis 26. The connection of the terminal portion 25 to the rigid box frame 27 is effected by a pair of plates 28, 29 which extend forwardly from the box frame and form a generally U-shaped receptacle. A pair of tapered roller bearings are indicated at 30, 31, the bearings being received in suitable seats formed in terminal section 25. The inner races of the bearings may be apparent that as the drawbar assembly pivots about the coincides with pivot axis 26. Any convenient clamping mechanism 33 may be employed to maintain the assembly in engagement.

Wheels 35, 36 are controlled by a conventional Alterman steering linkage which includes a pair of tierods 37, 38, each of which is pivotally connected at its outer end to an associated link 39, 40, each link being pivoted about a pin 41, 42 carried by the frame of the conveyor unit. The terminal end of each tie rod is pivotally connected as at 43 to the terminal portion 25. It will thus be apparent that as the drawbar assembly pivots about the axis 26, there will be a corresponding movement of the connecting point 43, and consequently actuation of the steering linkage. A steering position is indicated in phantom lines with elements referenced with a prime symbol. Preferably, the linkage is arranged to oversteer. That is, irrespective of the direction of turn of the wheel assemblies, there is a tendency for the inner turning radius to be shortened.

A guide wheel is indicated generally at 46. The guide wheel consists in this instance of a roller which rotates about an axis coincident with pivot axis 26.

Referring now to FIGURE 1, a base assembly is illustrated in its entirety at 48. The base assembly is a part of the mining way and consists essentially of a flat, planar surface which may be composed of a plurality of individual sections bolted together, although it could be conventional railroad ties and steel plates, not shown. For the purposes of illustration, the individual sections have not been illustrated but it will be obvious that any convenient number may be selected and any convenient means may be employed to attach the sections one to the other. The top of base 48 forms lateral tread surfaces for the wheel assemblies, and such surfaces could be rails for use with flanged support wheels, as desired. A guide rail or flange is indicated generally at 49. As best shown in FIGURE 2, the guide rail includes an upstanding wall or flange 50 which is maintained upright by reinforcing members 51. In this instance, a bottom flange member 52 has been illustrated but it will be obvious that the flange 50 could be connected directly to the flat portion of the base assembly 48. As will be obvious from FIGURE 2, the flange 50 is located that distance from the centerline of the base assembly which is equal to the radius of the guide wheel 46. Furthermore, the guide wheel 46 always bears against the outside radius of the flange 50. For convenience, the desired path of travel of each conveyor unit has been indicated by phantom line 53. Line 53 is coincident with the path followed by pivot axis 26 as a conveyor unit moves from a position in which it is essentially parallel to the high wall 11 until it is disposed for longitudinal movement into entry 10.

Entry frogs are indicated at 54 and 55, the purpose of which is to guide and confine the guide wheel 46 as it enters the left and right ends of the base assembly when moving in forward and reverse directions respectively.

The use and operation of the invention are as follows:

In order to accurately align each unit in a multi-unit train preparatory to movement into an entry, base assembly 48 is positioned such that the exit portion 53 of its centerline is aligned with the longitudinal axis of entry 10. As the end unit in the multi-unit train approaches the left end of the base assembly, entry frog 54 directs the guide wheel 46 of each unit into engagement with flange 50. As the unit moves in a forward direction and makes the illustrated right turn, guide wheel 46 moves into rolling engagement with guide flange 50. The steer ing system of FIGURE 5 is so designed that there is a slight tendency for the unit to oversteer. This oversteering feature in conjunction with the natural tendency of each succeeding unit to cut each corner a little sharper than each preceeding unit insures engagement of the guide wheel with the flange at all times.

Once a unit is aligned with the longitudinal axis of the entry 10, and the wheel assemblies have returned to the illustrated solid line position of FIGURE 4, there is no further need for external guidance since the tension exerted on the train by the power unit will maintain the individual units in alignment.

When the mining operation ceases in entry 10, a power source is actuated at the left or rearward end of the multi-unit train. Entry flange 55 will insure placement of each guide wheel 46 against flange 50, and each c0nveyor unit will again traverse the identical path during the reverse movement. It is just as essential when traveling in the reverse direction that each unit follow the same path because, if the train is long enough, it would eventually hang up against corner 58 of the entry,

The train is moved in a reverse or rearward direction until all units, including the power unit if necessary, has cleared the base assembly 48. Thereafter, a bulldozer or other power source is hooked to the base, as by chains secured to holes 59, 60, and the entire base assembly is dragged to the next working position, which is illustrated in dotted lines in FIGURE 1. After adjustment of the base assembly to insure proper alignment with the desired longitudinal line of advance of the next entry, the conveyor train is again moved in a forward direction and the above described process repeated.

Although a preferred form of the invention has been illustrated and described, it should be realised that there are many alterations, substitutions and modifications thereto possible Within the appended claims and the prior art.

What is claimed is:

l. A mining way where a base assembly is positioned in said way to change direction of vehicles traversing the way, said base assembly having lateral tread surfaces and a central longitudinally extending upstanding wall, a car supported on wheels, guide means on the central axis of the car extending into registry with the wall for steering said car along said base assembly, said guide means movably engaging one side of the wall.

2. The invention of claim 1 and further characterized in that the upstanding wall is formed in a predetermined curve in plan view, the curve adapted to effect said change in direction of the vehicles traversing the way.

3. The invention of claim 1 and further characterized in that the guide means on the car is a roller which rotates in a horizontal plane about an axis located on the centerline of the car.

4. The invention of claim 1 and further characterized in that a plurality of said cars are joined in a multi-unit train for traversing the Way.

5. The invention of claim 1 and further characterized in that the base assembly is composed of a plurality of sections, securable one to another, which are capable of being shifted as a unit from location to location.

6. The invention of claim 1 and further characterized in that each of the wheel assemblies are steerable and biased to oversteer in a radially inward direction to thereby maintain abutting contact between the wall and the guide means of the car.

7. The invention of claim 6 and further characterized in that a plurality of said cars are joined together for a multi-unit train, and each of said steerable wheel assemblies being connected for turning movement with an adjacent, interconnected car.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 924,182 6/1909 Neville 104-247 2,746,399 5/1956 Tomas 105-168 XR 2,908,229 10/1959 Furrer 1053 3,048,124 8/1962 Lovell 104247 XR 5 ARTHUR L. LA POINT, Primary Examiner 7315 H. BELTRAN, Assistant Examiner Neville 104247 Burton 104-247 Ekstrom 46-243 10 104-438; 105 4, 168,215 

